Trekkers Gives Thanks for Photo Treks Support

THOMASTON – On behalf of Trekkers, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to everyone who contributed to the success of this year’s Photo Treks program. This expeditionary learning program took our students to three of Maine’s largest cities and allowed these young people a chance to experience the cultural diversity that exists within our own small state. After learning photography techniques from a professional photographer and capturing digital images during their visits to Lewiston, Augusta and Portland, the students processed their work and prepared for their gallery exhibition. We are grateful to all the talented and generous people who helped make this program so successful.

Our thanks go to the people who shared their lives and stories with our students during the 5-day expedition last October, when the group learned about various social justice issues here in Maine. Specifically, we would like to thank Tree Street Youth Center in Lewiston, Bread of Life Ministries Soup Kitchen in Augusta, Paul and Mary Nolt of Corinna, and the Nagaloka Buddhist Center in Portland. We are also grateful for the facilities at Camp Kieve in Nobleboro, which served as home base for the students and mentors during their expedition.

Special thanks go to everyone in the local art community who opened our students’ eyes to the power of telling a story through digital images. We are grateful to professional photographer and Photo Treks mentor, Kari Wehrs, for sharing this journey with the students and providing both technical training and artistic encouragement throughout the program. Thanks also to Maine Media Workshops for allowing us to use their facilities to process the photos, to Margot Kelley and Jenifer Mumford for curating the exhibition, to Jared Cowan of Asymmetrick Arts for matting the photos, and to Jonathan Frost for holding the opening at his newly-relocated gallery.

The program could not have happened without grant support from the K2 Family Foundation, mentoring support from Shane Lavoie, Sarah Young and Lindsey Evans. We are also grateful for all the wonderful student artists who participated in this year’s program. Of course, we appreciate everyone from the community who attended the gallery opening on March 14, and supported our students by admiring their artwork, which was showcased at the Jonathan Frost Gallery in Rockland.

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If you have not had the opportunity to experience the students’ artwork firsthand, their photos will be on display and will be available for sale at the gallery until the end of March. One-half of the proceeds from any sales will benefit the Photo Treks program; the other half will go to the student. Thanks to the community for supporting this year’s program.